U.S. patent application number 09/973004 was filed with the patent office on 2003-04-10 for carrier sheet with integrated detachable die-cut card having a magnet material backing.
Invention is credited to Cox, Christopher Robert, Garland, Bill (William) James, Ritchie, William Dale.
Application Number | 20030067159 09/973004 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 30444703 |
Filed Date | 2003-04-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030067159 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ritchie, William Dale ; et
al. |
April 10, 2003 |
Carrier sheet with integrated detachable die-cut card having a
magnet material backing
Abstract
A carrier sheet comprising a printed paper sheet having an
integrated detachable card with a magnetic backing and method of
manufacturing same is described. The carrier sheet is comprised of
a printed paper sheet having printed matter on at least a front
face thereof. The printed matter contains card information printed
in a card area. A polyfilm patch is adhered over the card area and
over the card information printed thereon. A thin flexible patch of
magnet material is adhesively secured on a rear face of the paper
sheet and extends over the card area. A die-cut is made in the
sheet and delineates the contour of the card area and extends
through the polyfilm patch, the paper sheet and partly into the
patch of magnet material to form a burstable region along said
die-cut to hold the card in the carrier sheet. The die-cut can have
any ornamental shape.
Inventors: |
Ritchie, William Dale;
(Richmond, CA) ; Cox, Christopher Robert;
(Orangeville, CA) ; Garland, Bill (William) James;
(Mississauga, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
JACOBSON HOLMAN PLLC
400 SEVENTH STREET N.W.
SUITE 600
WASHINGTON
DC
20004
US
|
Family ID: |
30444703 |
Appl. No.: |
09/973004 |
Filed: |
October 10, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
283/101 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G09F 7/04 20130101; Y10T
428/1486 20150115; Y10T 428/149 20150115; B42D 15/045 20130101;
Y10T 428/1495 20150115; Y10S 402/503 20130101; Y10S 428/90
20130101; Y10S 281/01 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
283/101 |
International
Class: |
B42D 015/00 |
Claims
1. A carrier sheet comprising a printed paper sheet having printed
matter on at least a front face thereof, said printed matter
containing card information printed in a card area, a polyfilm
patch adhered over said card area and over said card information
printed thereon, a thin flexible patch of magnet material
adhesively secured on a rear face of said paper sheet and extending
over said card area, a die-cut in said sheet delineating the
contour of said card area and extending through said polyfilm patch
and paper sheet and into said patch of magnet material, and holding
means along said die-cut to hold said die-cut card in said
sheet.
2. A carrier sheet as claimed in claim 1 wherein said die-cut
extends only partly into said patch of magnetic material to form a
burstable region in said uncut region of said magnet material along
said die-cut, said burstable region constituting said holding
means.
3. A carrier sheet as claimed in claim 1 wherein said die-cut has
an ornamental shape.
4. A carrier sheet as claimed in claim 1 wherein said printed
matter is a common message, said carrier sheet with said die-cut
card area being personalized in a laser printing machine.
5. A carrier sheet as claimed in claim 1 where die-cut holding tabs
are formed along said die-cut and have sufficient retention
strength to prevent said die-cut card area to detach from said
sheet when processed in said laser printing machine.
6. A carrier sheet as claimed in claim 1 wherein said die-cut card
is a promotional magnet card.
7. A carrier sheet as claimed in claim 1 wherein said printed paper
sheet is machine foldable in panels to constitute a glue fold
envelope mailer containing an outer printed address panel, and an
inner printed message form containing said die-cut card in a panel
thereof.
8. A method of manufacturing a carrier sheet comprised of a printed
paper sheet having an integrated detachable die-cut card having a
magnet material backing, said method comprising the steps of: i)
printing on at least a front face of said paper sheet information
matter at predetermined locations and card information in a card
area, ii) securing a polyfilm patch over said card area and card
information printed thereon, iii) securing a thin flexible patch of
magnet material on a rear face of said paper sheet and extending
over said card area, and iv) die-cutting a delineated contour of
said card area from said front face; said die-cut extending through
said polyfilm patch and paper sheet and into said patch of magnet
material, said die-cut forming holding means in said delineated
contour.
9. A method as claimed in claim 8 wherein said step (iv) comprises
die-cutting only partly into said patch of magnet material to form
a burstable region along said uncut region of said magnet material,
said burstable region constituting said holding means.
10. A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein there is further
provided the step of printing personalized information on said
front or rear face of said carrier sheet with said integrated
die-cut card in a high speed laser printing machine.
11. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein there is further
provided the steps of folding said sheet into two or more panels,
and adhesively securing said panels to form a mailer with said
personalized information appearing on an outer face of one of said
panels and said die-cut card located in another of said panels.
12. A method as claimed in claim 8 wherein said step (iv) comprises
die-cutting an ornamental shaped card area.
13. A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein there is further
provided the step of removing said die-cut card from said paper
sheet by applying finger pressure against said card area while
holding said paper sheet free and popping said die-cut card from
said paper sheet by bursting said uncut region of said magnet
material.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a carrier sheet comprised
of a printed paper sheet having printed matter thereon and a
laminated die-cut card formed integral therewith with the card
having a thin, flexible magnetic material backing and wherein the
carrier sheet is capable of being personalized in a high-speed
laser printer.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Refrigerator decals or cards having magnet backings
laminated thereto for attachment to refrigerators or other metal
surface are known. These decals are used mostly for advertising
purposes. However, these decals are expensive to produce as the
design thereon is usually made by a silk screen process or spot
color printed. Such decals are also usually mailed out to intended
users by glue-tipping them to a letter or they are simply inserted
in an envelope together with a letter. The assembly of these
mailers with these decals is usually done by hand, which increases
the cost.
[0003] With the prior art processes, when it is necessary to
produce a high volume of these decals, there is very little cost
reduction. Also, it is very costly to change any information
printed on these decals as it is required to change the plates in
the print presses. Also, matching name and address on magnet
decals, with the names on letters and envelopes is manual, costly
and prone to error. Matching coloring graphic quality from magnet
decal, letterhead and envelope is virtually impossible. With the
prior art, the manufacturing process would comprise the production
of an envelope, the production of a letterhead, the production of a
magnet decal, letter lazering, assembly and insertion. This results
in long cycle times, errors in the matching, high waste levels and
often result in short shipments.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0004] It is a feature of the present invention to provide a
carrier sheet having an integrated die-cut card provided with a
magnet backing patch and method of manufacturing same and which
substantially overcomes the above disadvantages of the prior
art.
[0005] It is another feature of the present invention to provide a
carrier sheet, such as a mailer with an integrated card having a
magnet backing which is thin, lightweight and wherein the printing
in the mailer and on the card is high quality offset printing.
[0006] Another feature of the present invention is provide a
carrier sheet as above-described wherein the same quality of
printing appears on the document and envelope and wherein the
envelope can be formed integral with the mailer paper sheet.
[0007] Another feature of the present invention is to provide a
carrier sheet as above-described which eliminates matching errors
between the letter and information printed on the front face of the
integral magnet card.
[0008] Another feature of the present invention is to provide a
carrier sheet as above-described wherein the production thereof is
cost effective, especially in high volumes and where text changes
are required.
[0009] Another feature of the present invention is to provide a
carrier sheet as above-described which can be used in high-speed
laser printers to personalize the documents and wherein customer
variable imaging on laser, ink jet or impact printing is
achievable.
[0010] Another feature of the present invention is to provide a
carrier sheet as above-described and wherein the card front face is
laminated with a polyester film.
[0011] Another feature of the present invention is to provide a
method of manufacture of a carrier sheet as above-described and
wherein the die-cut extends only partly within the magnet material
of the magnet patch to form a burstable region in the uncut region
of the magnet material along the die-cut and thereby greatly
prolonging the wear of the cutting die and preventing the die-cut
card from disengaging with the carrier sheet in high speed
printers.
[0012] According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the
present invention provides a carrier sheet comprising a printed
paper sheet having printed matter on at least a front face thereof.
The printed matter contains card information printed in a card
area. A polyfilm patch is adhered over the card area and over the
card information printed thereon. A thin flexible patch of magnet
material is adhesively secured on a rear face of the paper sheet
and extends over the card area. A die-cut is made in the sheet and
delineates the contour of the card area and extends through the
polyfilm patch and paper sheet and into the patch of magnet
material. Holding means are formed along the die-cut to hold the
die-cut card in the sheet.
[0013] According to a further broad aspect of the present
invention, the die-cut extends only partly into the magnet material
to form a burstable region in the uncut region of the magnet
material along the die-cut to constitute the holding means.
[0014] According to a still further broad aspect of the present
invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a carrier
sheet comprised of a printed paper sheet having an integrated
detachable die-cut card having a magnet material backing. The
method comprises printing on at least a front face of the paper
sheet information matter at predetermined locations and card
information in a card area. A polyfilm patch is secured over the
card area and card information printed thereon. A thin flexible
patch of magnet material is secured on a rear face of the paper
sheet and extends over the card area. A delineated contour of the
card area is die-cut from the front face. The die-cut extends
through the polyfilm patch and paper sheet and into the patch of
magnet material. The die-cut may also form holding tabs in the
delineated contour.
[0015] According to a further broad aspect of the present invention
the method also comprises die-cutting only partly into the patch of
magnet material to form a burstable region in the uncut region of
the magnet material along the die-cut.
[0016] According to a still further broad aspect the mailer and
method comprises folding the sheet into two or more panels to form
a mailer with the personalized information containing an address on
an outer face of one of the panels and with the die-cut card being
located in another panel, and wherein the panels are secured to one
another by adhesive strips, tabs or other fastening means.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0017] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be
described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
[0018] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a carrier sheet mailer constructed
in accordance with the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 2 is a fragmented plan view showing the rear face of
the mailer where the magnet patch is adhesively secured;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a fragmented view of a carrier sheet front face
showing the further ornamental shape of the die-cut card;
[0021] FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmented section view illustrating
the die-cut extending only partly within the magnet material to
form a burstable region along the die-cut;
[0022] FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmented front view of the carrier
sheet showing the holding tabs in the die-cut;
[0023] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a carrier sheet
constructed in accordance with the present invention and comprised
of three panels which are folded together to form an integral
envelope for the mailer; and
[0024] FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the carrier sheet of
the present invention formed of two panels which are secured
together by an adhesive tab to also form an integral envelope for
the mailer.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0025] Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to
FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown generally at 10, a carrier sheet,
herein a mailer constructed in accordance with the present
invention. It is comprised of a printed paper sheet 11 which
contains printed matter 12 describing a service or otherwise and
associated with card information printed matter 13 printed in a
card area 14.
[0026] Referring now additionally to FIG. 4, it can be seen that a
polyfilm patch 15 is adhesively secured over the card area and over
the card information 13 printed in the card area. The polyfilm
patch is comprised of a thin polyethylene sheet 16 and an adhesive
17 which bonds the polyethylene film to the front face 18 of the
paper sheet 11 over the card area.
[0027] Referring additionally to FIG. 2, it can be seen that a thin
flexible patch of magnet material 19 is adhesively secured on a
rear face 20 of the paper sheet 11 and extends over the card area
14. The magnet material patch 19 comprises a thin layer or sheet 21
of magnetized iron oxide material provided with an adhesive backing
22 to secure same to the rear face 20 of the paper sheet 11.
[0028] With additional reference now to FIG. 5, it can be seen that
a die-cut 23 delineates the contour of the card 25 formed integral
with the paper sheet. The cutting die may have slits, as is well
known in the art, to form holding tabs 24 along the die-cut, see
FIG. 5, and these are usually disposed in the corners of the
rectangular shaped card herein shown, although they can be located
elsewhere. These tabs constitute one example of a holding means.
Instructional information 26 may be printed below the polyfilm
patch to instruct the user as to how to detach the card from the
mailer. It will pop out by applying finger pressure.
[0029] FIG. 3 illustrates a die-cut card 25' having a different
ornamental shape. In fact these cards or ornaments may have a
multitude of shapes and uses.
[0030] With reference now more specifically to FIG. 4, there is
shown a preferred embodiment of how the die-cut knife 30 penetrates
through the mailer to delineate the card 25. As hereinshown the
knife tip 28 only extends partly through the magnet film sheet 21
whereby to form a burstable region 29 in the uncut region between
the tip 28 of the die-cut knife 30 and the outer surface 27 of the
magnetic film sheet 21. This burstable region may be in the range
of {fraction (6/1000)} of an inch. The burstable region constitutes
another form of holding means wherein it is not necessary to form
holding tabs. The reason the die does not penetrate the magnet film
is to prolong the life of the die-cut knife permitting such carrier
sheets to be formed in high speed machines and in large quantities
without having to frequently replace the die-cut knife which is a
very expensive part of such machines. It is also pointed out that
this carrier sheet can be personalized in a computerized high-speed
printing machine.
[0031] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the mailer sheet 11 may be
printed on the rear face 20 thereof to personalize the mailer to a
recipient whose name is printed, such as 31 on the rear panel. The
carrier sheet as shown in FIG. 6 is folded into three panels with
the bottom panel 32, containing the card 25, being folded onto the
intermediate panel 33 and then the top panel 34 is folded
thereover. The folded panels may be secured together by an adhesive
strip 35 which may have been applied on the front face 18 of the
carrier sheet and along the upper edge 36 thereof.
[0032] FIG. 7 shows another form of envelope mailer and wherein the
printed paper sheet 11 is folded into two sections to form a back
panel 37 and a top panel 38. An adhesive tab 39 may be secured
along an outer edge of either the front or rear panels to secure
the panels together. There are many other ways to secure the panel
together, and this is also well known in the art. The rear panel 37
would contain the detachable card 25. Again, the rear face 20 of
the paper sheet 11 contains a personalized address 40 of an
intended recipient. There are of course many other envelope
configurations that can be achieved and many ways of forming an
envelope integral with the mailer and it is within the ambit of the
present invention to cover all these.
[0033] Briefly summarizing the method of manufacturing of the
carrier sheet, it consists of printing at least the front face of
the paper sheet with information matter at predetermined locations
and also printing card information in the card area 14. The
polyfilm patch and the thin flexible magnet patch may be applied by
the same machine in a single run of the film sheet or may be done
at separate stages or in separate machines. The die-cutting is then
effected in the manner as above-described. You now have a mailer
with an integrated card having a magnet backing and this mailer can
be sent to intended recipients in envelopes. On the other hand, the
mailer can be fed through a high-speed computer control laser
printing machine (not shown, but obvious to a person skilled in the
art) where the paper sheet can be personalized to a recipient,
folded into two or more panels and also adhesively secured with a
stamp printed thereon ready for mailing. As above-described, in
order to greatly prolong the use of the cutting die, and also to
provide good retention of the die-cut card for processing in a
high-speed printer, it is preferable that the die-cut only extends
partly into the patch of magnet material to form a burstable region
in the uncut region of the magnet material along the die-cut. This
prevents wear on the tip of the knife when passing through the
material and striking a hard backing surface. By pushing the card
out of the paper form, the magnet material will burst along the
die-cut to create a clean, sharp cut along the outer edges of the
card.
[0034] It is within the ambit of the present invention to cover any
obvious modifications of the preferred embodiment described herein
provided such modifications fall within the scope of the appended
claims.
* * * * *